Duke An's Residence

As Duke An arrived outside his residence, he saw his little grandson waiting at the entrance with a servant. The boy sat on the steps with his face propped in his hands, looking left and right.

The moment he spotted his grandfather, his eyes lit up. He sprang from the steps and trotted over.

"Grandfather, Grandfather, how did it go? Is the Top Scholar willing to take me as his disciple?" An Chengyu clutched the hem of Duke An's robe and gazed up at him, brimming with anticipation, a little nervousness hidden in his wide eyes.

Looking at An Chengyu bouncing about at his knees, Duke An nearly shed tears. Thank goodness, thank goodness someone had saved his precious grandson.

Duke An rested his large, aged, rough hand on An Chengyu's fair, soft cheek and gently pinched it. "He agreed. Your grandfather can do the work of two! In two days, when Junior Official Shen has a day off, I'll take you to perform the ceremony to become his disciple.

"But you must promise me that you'll study diligently under Junior Official Shen. No more working for three days and slacking off for two like you did before."

When An Chengyu heard that Shen Shixu had agreed to take him as a disciple, he circled Duke An, cheering gleefully. "Hooray! Hooray! This is wonderful! The Top Scholar agreed to take me as his disciple!"

After watching An Chengyu leap about in delight for a while, Duke An cautioned him, "All right, all right, look how excited you are. Be careful you don't trip."

An Chengyu stopped and patted his little chest. "Don't worry, Grandfather. I haven't fallen since I was three. But now I have to hurry back and tell Mother and Auntie the good news. I also need to prepare a gift for the ceremony in two days.

"I can't stay and talk, Grandfather. I have things to do!"

Duke An watched his grandson skip away, his face full of affection. Once An Chengyu was out of sight, that affection vanished without a trace. With a grim expression, he instructed the steward beside him.

"Zhang, go and bring my nephew back. Tell him I need to speak to him."

Seeing how dark his master's expression was, Steward Zhang dared not delay and went to fetch Luo Kun himself.

Along the way, Luo Kun tried probing Steward Zhang to find out why Duke An had suddenly summoned him, but he learned nothing. Unease filled him. Had what he had done two days ago been exposed?

But then he shook his head and drove the thought away.

He had carried out that deed flawlessly. He had disposed of everyone involved. There was absolutely no way it could be exposed.

Luo Kun concealed the darkness in his eyes and assumed the air of a courteous gentleman as he entered the study at Duke An's Residence.

"Uncle, I'm here. Why did you summon me back so urgently? Is something the matter?"

Duke An sat in the study's grand armchair, scrutinizing Luo Kun as he stood before him. Had he not learned the truth from Shen Shixu, he might still have been fooled by this outward appearance.

Luo Kun looked so innocent and conscientious. How could he seem like someone who would sell his own nephew out of greed? Yet this seemingly honest, guileless man harbored such vicious intentions!

"Do you truly not know why I summoned you, or are you only pretending?"

Luo Kun's heart lurched at those words, and panic began to rise within him. But remembering the people he had disposed of, he suppressed it and forced an innocent, puzzled smile. "Uncle, I'm slow-witted. I don't understand what you mean. Please speak plainly."

Seeing that he would refuse to admit anything until faced with undeniable proof, Duke An slammed his hand on the table. "You don't know? I think you know perfectly well! You were behind Chengyu's abduction two days ago, weren't you? How could you be so cruel? He's your own nephew! You watched him grow up, yet you could bear to sell him to traffickers!"

The more Duke An spoke, the more anguished he became. Beating his chest, his eyes red, he said, "How could you do this to me? How could you do this to your two late cousins? Luo Kun, oh, Luo Kun! I have never treated you poorly. After my sister died, I even fell out with your father's family to bring you here and care for you. When you wanted to study, I hired a tutor. When you wanted to learn martial arts, I taught you myself.

"When you failed at those and wanted to go into business instead, I gave you my own savings. I loved you like my own son, yet you wanted to wipe out my family line!"

As Duke An recounted everything he had done for him, reminiscence, gratitude, shame, and remorse flashed through Luo Kun's eyes. In the end, all those emotions dissolved into bitter sobbing.

He fell to his knees and repeatedly kowtowed to Duke An, tears and snot streaming down his face. "Uncle, Uncle, I'm sorry! I lost my senses. I was insatiably greedy. I wronged you, I wronged both my cousins, and most of all, I wronged Little Fish.

"It was all my fault, every last bit of it. I'm willing to pay the price. But my wife and son knew nothing about it. For my late mother's sake, please don't punish them."

Looking at him weeping and apologizing, Duke An waved a hand. "I'm not you. I can't bring myself to harm innocent people. In consideration of your past devotion to Duke An's Residence, I'll ensure they live out their lives free from want. But wealth and luxury are out of the question."

At those words, Luo Kun closed his eyes and kowtowed three more times, striking his forehead heavily against the floor. Only then did he rise, push open the door, and leave.

After returning home, he confessed everything to his wife. She was shocked by what he had done, but when she heard he intended to turn himself in, she still could not help reaching out to stop him.

"This is something I must answer for myself. From now on, you and Xiao Feng must live well. Uncle said he wouldn't harm either of you and would keep you safe for the rest of your lives. But you won't be able to have everything handed to you as you do now.

"Still, I bought a house in your hometown some years ago. You and Xiao Feng can go there. Life won't be as comfortable as it is now, but at least you'll have food, drink, and a roof over your heads."

After giving his wife these instructions, Luo Kun went to the Capital Prefecture. He had several lives on his conscience, along with the trafficking of a child, and the Capital Prefecture very

quickly announced his sentence: he would be beheaded at noon in half a month.

After leaving the courtyard where Shen Shixu lived, Xiao Jinyi went straight to the Eastern Palace. He had only just sat down and had a cup of tea when he instructed Xiao Yuanqi's attendant to fetch an imperial physician from the Imperial Medical Academy.

Hearing this, Xiao Yuanqi put down the book he was reading and looked at Xiao Jinyi with concern. "Why do you suddenly need an imperial physician? Did you sustain some hidden injury on the battlefield?"

As Xiao Yuanqi asked about Xiao Jinyi's condition, he urged the attendant to fetch an imperial physician at once, preferably the Chief Physician of the Imperial Medical Academy.

Seeing how worried Xiao Yuanqi was, Xiao Jinyi hurried to explain, "I'm not injured. It's just that something seems to be wrong with my heart. I care too much about someone. He seems different from everyone else in every way, and I can't help wanting to be close to him. But with my temperament, I shouldn't have feelings like this, so I suspect I'm ill."